by Brand

Saw like tools have a long ancestry stretching back nearly 10,000 years to the Neolithic era. However, they didn’t develop as quickly as some other tools from that time such as axes. None of the early sawing tools could cut right through a piece of wood, and they were more like knives for the severing or fraying of material. The saw designs we know today started to develop when the ancient world became more experienced at casting bronze and iron. Saws from this time were all designed as pull saws, with sharply raked teeth and a blade length of around 12-14in. The Romans furthered these designs by tensioning the blade within a wooden frame and later making the first backed saw we know of, this meant they could make much longer blades. The Romans also came up with the setting of the teeth so that more waste cleared and less friction generated, thus making huge steps towards the tools we use today.

Nowadays there are a huge range of saws for all types of applications, these include:

Tenon Saws which are sometimes described as ‘Back Saws’ have a straight parallel blade with brass or steel along the back for rigidity, used for cutting tenons and small timber.

Dovetail Saws are a smaller version of the Tenon saw. They are particularly useful for cutting dovetail joints and time under 1/2in thick.